Dear reader,
Mental health is foundational to our overall health. If you don’t believe that, you may want to stop reading now because this newsletter is all about that premise.
Sadly, we have never embraced fully this notion in the United States – we, in fact, have often minimized it to our detriment. From practice to policy and everything in between, we have perpetuated a fragmented view of health – one where mental health is treated as separate and unequal.
If you need proof, put down your phone or laptop, walk over to the mirror and take a long, hard look at yourself. How do you feel? Answer honestly because most of the nation isn’t feeling so great. Most of us are all suffering in ways that were unimaginable just a year ago. Jobs gone. Kids at home and not in school. Social isolation. Uncertainty from a raging virus. And when we turn on the news and see calls for shots in arms, masking, and 6-foot distancing, where is the discussion on mental health? Where is the acknowledgement of and validation for our thoughts and feelings? Nowhere to be seen.
The good news is that we can do something about it, and that’s what this newsletter will be all about.
This newsletter will be about action. It will update you, the reader, on the latest science, current events, and yes, politics, all in service to making sure that mental health is contextualized – that mental health is seen through the lenses that often blind us to the mental health issues that are undeniably driving so much of what is right in front of us.
I have been working to bring mental health into our lives so that we can thrive my entire career. I have had a lot of friends help along the way – some of whom will show up here, too – who’ve helped me figure out and promote solutions that will drive real change.
You, reader, are an important part of those solutions. And if this newsletter accomplishes its goal of encouraging you to take action – in your own life, the life of someone else, or by becoming an advocate for mental health policy reform – I know we will get through this together.
I can’t wait to share and discuss how.
Thank you for following along!
Be well,
Ben